You are here

Preparing Boxes for Transport

We reserve the right to refuse improperly loaded pallets. Overloading may result in damage to boxes on the bottom level and injury to State Records Center employees.   

Preparing Records for Shipment to the State Records Center provides visual, step-by-step instructions for palletizing and labeling your boxes.  You can also follow these procedures:

  • For safety reasons, any pallet size narrower than 40" is unacceptable. Use pallets measuring 42" x 42". If a pallet of this measurement is not available, a pallet measuring 40" x 48" is acceptable. 
  • Please, do not tape, staple or put post-it notes on the outside or lid of the boxes.  Also, Do Not attach Transfer List to the pallets, they should be sent to the RECORDS inbox, records@nysed.gov.
  • Limit the number of boxes on a pallet to forty-eight, with six layers of eight boxes on each pallet. 
  • Barcodes and labels on every box should face outward.
  • Boxes should be stacked tightly together.

Arrange boxes in the following manner:

  • Place heaviest boxes on the bottom and the lightest on the top
  • Boxes do not need to be in numerical order, but all boxes on the transfer list should be on the same pallet.
  • Boxes should not hang over any edges or between slats on the pallet

Stack boxes using the pinwheel method as follows:

  • Place the heaviest boxes on the bottom layer with labels facing outward.
  • Put the next two boxes on the pallet adjacent to first two.
  • Place two more boxes adjacent to boxes 3 and 4.
  • Place the last two boxes on bottom layer adjacent to the first two on the pallet.
  • Start next layer with the next heaviest boxes, rotate starting boxes one quarter of a turn to interlock the pallet.
  • Place next two on that layer adjacent to the first two (should be offset to first layer to interlock the pallet).
  • Put next two on the second layer adjacent to the previous two, keeping boxes tight to interlock layer.  Put final two boxes on second layer
  • Continue to build pallets 5 to 6 (40-48 boxes) layers high using the interlocking method, rotating each layer ¼ turn from the one before (rows 1, 3, and 5 would face the same way and rows 2, 4, and 6 are the same).  Notice how each layer is "offset" to interlock.  
  • After boxes are stacked, secure, and standalone, wrap the containers with stretch-wrap to secure them during transit. You may obtain stretch-wrap from your mailroom or through your purchasing unit.